Bob McGinn, you da man, Poppinga’s not

McGinn finally gets it – read this quality article on Brady Poppinga’s inadequate performance this year. Don’t have much to add. Just a good article that finally addresses the shortcomings of a player who seemed to have immunity from criticism – both from the media and the Packers organization. One comment I should make is that I do believe Poppinga may be a guy some have been afraid to criticize because he’s such a great guy. That is not lost on me – he seems to be a popular guy on the team, with coaches and especially with the media because he’s a great quote and he’s very bright. I should add that I really like Brady Poppinga. I have since he first made the team 4 years ago – he was a guy I was rooting hard for. But performance matters in this business and it’s time for us to root for someone else now.

Thanks again for picking up on this Bob McGinn – though I can’t help but wonder, have you been reading Packergeeks?

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

This entry was posted on December 13, 2008 at 11:43 am and is filed under Packers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Bob McGinn, you da man, Poppinga’s not”

Trav – just saw your comment after putting this up. You’re right – it wasn’t as harsh as it could have been or should have been – I think that has to do with Brady being a good guy and McGinn maybe not wanting to completely tear him down. Though it at least calls him out for weak performance and the quotes from the AFC scout were pretty telling to me – other teams recognize that he struggles and is slower. But the important thing is that Poppinga has largely escaped criticism and finally McGinn is at least bringing it up.

Totally agree and think McGinn might have an RSS feed of your posts for his article ideas. When I saw the title, I was expecting McGinn to unload with both barrels. I do agree that there is something to be said for the quality of a person, given the relative “thuggery” of pro sports in general. Effort and attitude can get you pretty far, but eventually the physical shortcomings get exposed and we get to where we are now with a highly paid special teams player, at best.

An extension of my not so tounge-in-cheek critique of the LB’s (extension of the D-Line review). From the end of last season to the beginning of training camp, something went terribly wrong with the LB’s.

Linebackers

Hawk – Started the year outside and now in the middle. I was one who thought he should be in the middle regardless of Barnett’’s status. So, far he has not performed anywhere near the level expected. Of course, neither did Barnett. AJ is 1. injured,, 2. Not an impact player, or 3. being miss managed by the coaches. Rating – Halfway between OK and Poor

Poppinga – Given a fat contract extension apparently the coaches thought he was a key to Linebacker play in 2008. His overall play has been poor. Using him as a rush lineman elicited more laughs than sacks. His coverage of Vonte Leach exemplified just how bad he plays his position. Rating – Poor

Havner – Who? If I have to go into the Packer Web Site to determine just what he has done, I must rate him accordingly. Rating – Stinks

Chillar – Has played sporadically. Has shown some potential, but has not been consistent enough to grade out at a higher level. Rating – Halfway between OK and Poor

Bishop – A monument to inconsistency! Has shown signs of almost brilliance and then counters it by blowing a game with a stupid mistake. He is responsible for two late game losses with errors. Rating – Poor (This could change with experience – he does show potential)

Lansanah – Occupying a slot because someone showed interest him while on practice squad. If he is that important why in the hell can’t they figure out how to get him in the line-up. It ain’t like they’ve got four All-Pros playing ahead of him. Rating – Stinks

Let’s remember when Barnett left the lineup; his level of play was in the Poor to Stink range. The Packers went into the year with a group of LB’s that were considered a strength of the team. Right now they have to be considered a glaring weakness. Based on last year’s performance, the coaching staff has got to be called on to answer for the performance levels. Just what caused the precipitous decline in performance at these critical positions.